16-05-2025
Music and arts help boost wellbeing for Guernsey patients
Patients at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital (PEH) have been enjoying crafting and music thanks to a joint initiative to boost wellbeing. The Participatory Arts Programme is a collaboration between Health and Social Care (HSC), Guernsey Art Network (GAN) and the School of Popular Music (SoPM).The Healthcare Musician Programme brings live music to children's wards and the Creativity Trolley offers activity packs for patients and hospital staff. Lottie Barnes, the government head of creative health, said the programme was an "incredible success" with more than 100 patients engaging with it each week.
The programme, funded through grants and charities, was started as a way to boost wellbeing, provide comfort and promote therapeutic benefits to people in hospital care."I am thrilled to see the positive impact the participatory arts programme at the PEH is having on our patients, their families, and our staff," said Ms Barnes."We understand that being in a hospital can be challenging, and our goal is to make the experience just a little bit better."
'Magical moment'
The Healthcare Musician Programme sees the SoPM perform for patients in the children's ward and neonatal unit. A family member of a patient on Frossard Ward said a performance had been a "magical moment that was so uplifting and calming"."The musicians were brilliant, and it meant so much to us as a family to have that short time that created an escape," they said. "We could participate as much or as little as we wanted, which made the experience both engaging and peaceful for all of us."
The Creativity Trolley, which was launched in May 2024, is a mobile art cart filled with supplies and activity are able to have one-on-one guided art sessions at their bedside, group workshops, or independent creative activities. Trained practitioners and volunteers visit areas across the hospital, including the children's Frossard Ward and the Bulstrode Oncology Unit for cancer patients. Hospital ward manager Jane Baker said it was a "huge help for our staff" whenever the art team visited the ward."They make such a positive impact on our patients by giving them things to do and enabling them to practise skills and develop new ones," she said.
